


Tips and Tricks

by echoflowertea



Series: Open Requests [26]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Female Reader, Reader Is Not Frisk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 00:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7954702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoflowertea/pseuds/echoflowertea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus is a goal-oriented monster. When he puts his mind to it, he can do anything! …with a little help from a cute human, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tips and Tricks

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt** : hey beautiful!! can I request a fic with a radical reader trying to teach papyrus to skateboard so he can be a true cool dude! keep up the fantastic work!! ;-)

Once upon a time, Papyrus fell in love.

PLATONICALLY.

It happened so suddenly. He was out running errands, a stack of grocery bags strung along his arms, trying to beat the heat in his favorite crop top and shorts, when he came across some very interesting and melodious laughter.

Laughs were his favorite. He liked how versatile they could be. His were loud and boisterous, whereas his brother’s were always low and wheezing. Undyne tended to snort and guffaw with her mouth wide open, while Alphys covered her face to hide her smile. Toriel chuckled politely in most situations, but when caught off guard, she would really let loose and cause a ripple among whoever was around her. And Frisk, of course, always merely gave a thumbs up and giggled quietly when they were really tickled.

He had many friends and met many people, but he hadn’t heard something like this before. It was enough to make him veer off from his one and only path to and from the grocery store. He was amazed at the fact that something so simple managed to pry him from his rigid routine.

He pressed his face up against the chainlink face and watched you soar through the air.

Wowie.

He’d seen pictures and videos of people skateboarding before. He’d never thought to try it because he thought it was a little silly, but this opened some new doors for him. Your body twisted after you slid up the half-pipe, the board flipping under your feet as you landed another intense trick that made his jaw drop. He could feel the sparkles explode in his eyesockets while he mushed his face to get an even closer look.

He spent the next ten minutes watching everyone skate. Some people in the park were on rollerblades, others on scooters. But none of them were quite as fantastic as you were. You held this air of confidence that really boosted his own self-esteem and made him want to glue his eyes to you. He knew that the milk he bought was going to end up spoiled if he stood out there in the heat any longer, so thanks to his brother’s reminding phone call that snapped him out of his reverie, he scrambled away from the park and ran home.

“hey, bro. what’re you doin’?”

“MAKING A NEW OUTFIT!”

“cool. need any help?”

“I THINK I CAN HANDLE THIS ONE MYSELF.” He beamed and held it up. “IT’S ALMOST FINISHED, WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

Sans ran his eyesockets over it. A tanktop that said ‘TOTALLY SICK’ in bright, neon lettering. Coupled with the shorts and the backwards cap, it was truly worth of his younger sibling’s praise.

“love it. why a new one, though?”

“I HAVE TO BE PREPARED! TOMORROW I AM GOING TO INTRODUCE MYSELF TO THE COOLIO PEOPLE AT THE SKATE PARK. THEY HAVE TO KNOW THAT I RESPECT WHAT THEY DO. SHARED INTERESTS IS THE KEY TO CREATING NEW FRIENDSHIPS, SANS!”

“sure is. welp. lemme know if ya need anything.” He shuffled away with a grin, wondering how all of this would turn out.

Papyrus headed down to the park the next afternoon. He was fully prepared with every single piece of protective gear he could gets his hands on! Kneepads, elbowpads, a helmet. He even stuffed tiny shoulderpads underneath his tanktop because he thought that was what they were for. Fashionable _and_ practical. Safety was a priority, after all.

The entire place swarmed with kids of all ages and sizes, beginners and experts, everyone rolling around and showing off. He liked this energy! It was fun! A little competitive, with the way that people tried to one-up each other, but it was all in good fun!

He moved closer to where you were, having heard your laugh break across the cacophony of screams and shouts around him. It was soothing and gave him a welcome break from the nearly overwhelming slew of sensations.

“…damn. Thought I had it that time.” You wiped the sweat from your brow and kicked the board up to catch it. It was a simple move, but Papyrus was more than impressed.

He straightened up and moved so that he was in your line of sight. Approaching the launch ramp. It was just a few inches tall, but he would do such an incredible move that you wouldn’t be able to tear your eyes off him. And then you would laugh and he would introduce himself as the COOL and GREAT PAPYRUS. You both would immediately become best friends and spend every waking moment together at the park while he felt the wind on his bones and the wheels take him to speeds he never could’ve dreamed of!

He rolled on over, kicked off from the ground, and immediately flew backwards and went down. Hard.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?!” You rushed over to where he was, dropping to your hands and knees to check him for injuries. He was a monster, so maybe he couldn’t actually get hurt that way, but you weren’t going to wait to find out. “Hello? Anyone home???”

He just stared at you blankly. A furious blush on his face.

Then he scrambled backwards, away from you, and abandoned the cardboard skateboard he glued together last night with toy cars for wheels. Leaving you dumbfounded when you watched him tear through the park and exit through the front gates until you couldn’t even see the bill of his cap.

“NYOO HOO HOO! IT WAS SO EMBARRASSING I WANTED TO DIE!!!”

“c’mon, bro. couldn’t have been that bad.”

“I TRIED TO DO A COOL TRICK AND SHE SAW ME FALL!”

“so what, she’s never fallen before?”

Papyrus lifted his head from his hands. Tears still sticking to his cheekbones. “…WELL, I SUPPOSE SHE HAS?”

“and she gets back up. and back on the board. right.”

“OF COURSE…WAIT. OH! I SEE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!!! I CANNOT GIVE UP SO EASILY BECAUSE MY IDOL CONTINUES TO PUSH FORWARD, TOO!”

“exactly.”

“THANK YOU, SANS. I AM GOING BACK THERE TOMORROW!!!”

Papyrus lurked outside of the park this time. Still in his incredible outfit. Searching the place for you, but having no luck in catching the telltale sound of your voice. That was disappointing. He really mustered up the courage to come back, but it really didn’t seem like you were here.

“Hi. Um, Papyrus, right?”

He froze. Turned.

“I brought you back your…skateboard? I think it’s yours, at least, it has your name on it.” You presented it to him with a smile. “You were in such a hurry yesterday you must’ve forgotten to bring it with you. It’s really cool, did you make it yourself?”

“Y-YES, I DID…” He took it from you gingerly. Marveling at the way that you regarded him with such kindness. “OH! BUT YOU CARRIED IT AROUND ALL DAY?”

“Yeah, but it’s light, so it’s not a big deal. I was hoping you’d show back up.”

“REALLY?!”

“Sure. I’ve seen you come around to watch everyone skate. You looked pretty determined to give it a try yourself.”

“I HAVE. IT LOOKS WONDERFUL AND VERY FUN!”

“I think I could teach you a few things, if you’d be willing to learn?” You kicked the skateboard up and caught it, only to hand it off to him. “I think this one would suit you better, though. In the meantime.”

Papyrus was more than ecstatic. He was _over the moon_ , as some humans would say. Monsters never understood the origins of that phrase until they reached the surface, and boy did he finally know what it felt like.

The two of you went inside the park to a secluded corner that no one seemed to use for their practices, only because it was meant for younger, smaller kids who were just starting out. Given that this place was a staple in the neighborhood and nearly everyone in the area had moved past this, it was the perfect spot for you to start your lessons.

“Okay, so. I think that maybe we should start on getting used to balancing on the board itself.”

“I HAVE IMPECCABLE BALANCE. I ONCE BALANCED TWELVE POTS ON MY HEAD AT THE PASTA STORE BECAUSE THEY HAD A SALE GOING ON WHERE EVERY ONE YOU COULD CARRY WAS FREE.”

You snorted with laughter. “I believe you. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen you on an actual board, so it might be a little different.”

You held out a hand and Papyrus took it, questioning your line of thought. You made him stand with both feet on top of it. Helping him position his feet so that he didn’t tip over either way.

“Everything is all about angles. Where you put your feet, how you lean, where your weight sits. You can use your head as a central point to sort of guide where you are. If any of those things are off, then you can end up falling. But I’ll be here to catch you so that doesn’t happen, okay? Just trust me and let’s get started on some basic movements.”

You made him get used to repositioning his feet in a stationary position, anchoring the board to make sure he didn’t end up rolling down the way and crashing into somebody. Despite how novice he was, he really did make up for his lack of finesse with utter sincerity. He wanted to do well with this and it showed. He absorbed all of your advice and refused to back down even when he slipped and nearly lost his footing a couple of times.

“YOU ARE QUITE STRONG! I DIDN’T THINK YOU COULD HANDLE MY WEIGHT WHEN I TIPPED OVER!”

“You’re pretty big, I’m surprised, too!” you laughed. You kept a firm grip on his arm and put him back into place. “I think you’re getting the hang of this.”

He left in a much, much better mood. All smiles and NYEH HEH HEHs under his breath. Sans didn’t pry, but was just happy to see his brother making friends.

Over the next week, you and Papyrus worked on everything related to balance. Enough that he could actually keep himself upright when you backed away entirely. It took a lot of extra special care because he had such a different body type than you did, but he was perceptive and eager to learn, two traits that you really admired.

“I THINK I HAVE IT DOWN NOW!”

“Totally! Look at you!”

Papyrus couldn’t stop practicing his tic-tac move. Wiggling the board back and forth, lifting it just high enough so that it hit the pavement. He really did end up making his movements smooth and natural. If anyone were to come by, they would’ve just thought that he was giving a demonstration to someone else who didn’t know what they were doing.

“OH, I WANT TO SEE YOU DO IT!”

“Hmm, okay.”

He handed the board to you and you hopped on. Moving through the motions with ease, the mechanics so ingrained in your brain that this was like second nature. Papyrus watched with his gaze fixed on you rather than the board, which sent a ball of warmth in the center of your chest.

“YOU ARE SO GRACEFUL? IT’S A LITTLE TERRIFYING!”

“Oh my god, you dork.” You grinned and stopped moving. “Hey, you want to take a break? I think you earned something for all your hard work.”

There was a small café near the end of the block that a lot of people frequented. Live music playing near the entrance and local art posted up on the walls. Papyrus wasn’t too interested in the food, considering it was all stuff he didn’t really like, but what did catch his attention was the small counter in the back that held a giant book of stickers.

“OOH!!! THIS IS NEAT. I LIKE THIS ONE. AND THAT!” He flipped through the pages. “LOOK AT ALL THE CROSSBONES. I HOPE ONE DAY I AM POPULAR FOR MY FACE TO BE A HIGHLY RECOGNIZABLE AND SOUGHT AFTER SYMBOL.”

“Really? How would you pose for it?”

He beamed with a thumbs up. You laughed.

“Well, this is what I wanted you to choose from, actually. When I first learned to skate, I earned a sticker on my board for every big milestone. I think that you deserve to put one on yours.”

“MINE??? BUT…THIS IS YOUR SKATEBOARD.”

You shook your head. “I’ve got others at home. And this is the one that you learned on. That’s special. I promise it’s still in great condition, and you can totally strip off all the badges I’ve put on there. If you want.”

Papyrus took it gingerly and gazed at the eclectic arrangement. Some of the stickers represented things he had no clue about, but it didn’t bother him at all. If anything, it just made him want to learn about them from you. To know the reasons why you chose them.

“OKIE DOKIE!!! I LOVE THIS IDEA! I AM GOING TO PICK SOMETHING THAT REPRESENTS ME AND PUT IT ON MY NEW SKATEBOARD!” He couldn’t stop beaming.

You waited around and looked at all of the band t-shirts strung up on the wall while Papyrus took his time. Rifling through the book and weighing his options. You thought maybe he didn’t like any of them until he stepped forward bashfully with one that had been tucked away in the far corner of the book.

You took it from his hands and gazed at it. “‘Cool dude’, huh?”

“YES!!! I FOUND IT ONCE UPON A TIME ON A T-SHIRT THAT FELL UNDERGROUND. THEN I OUTGREW IT AND HAD TO RECREATE IT. IS IT A GOOD CHOICE?”

“Uh, yeah? This is a really retro brand that isn’t even in circulation any more. Look, it’s even made of bones!”

“RIGHT? I THOUGHT IT WAS AMAZING WHEN I STUMBLED ON IT! TRULY FIT FOR MY HANDSOME FIGURE!”

You grinned. “Sure is.”

“OH….” He hadn’t been expecting that response. It looked like he short-circuited for a minute, but stuffed down the blush and cheered in full force. “LET’S RING THIS UP! I WILL FIND THE PERFECT SPOT FOR IT!”

Papyrus paraded the board around at home and Sans couldn’t stop laughing.

“hey bro, your friend really gave that to you?”

“INDEED SHE DID. I FIND IT INCREDIBLY THOUGHTFUL. SHE IS MUCH BETTER AT THIS SUDDEN FRIENDSHIP THAN I AM!”

“heh, wow. she must think you’re real swell.”

He paused midstep and glanced back at his brother’s slumped form on the couch. “U-UM…YES, I BELIEVE SO!!! I MEAN, WHY WOULDN’T SHE? I AM VERY LIKEABLE.”

“yep.”

Papyrus worked on his skateboarding even on days when you couldn’t meet up. Every practice night he would get a skateboard emoji from you via text, and he would respond with the ‘hang loose’ symbol. You thought it was the funniest thing ever. It was just one of those little things that made his night or day, depending on when he received it.

A lot of the people in the neighborhood tended to avoid the street when he practiced. Only because he really liked to concentrate and no one wanted to get in his way by driving around him. They all took alternate routes when he was out there messing around.

He was just glad that he didn’t bruise. With the amount of times he’d fallen down, sometimes he felt more like a pro at that than anything else.

_Hey, you busy? You should come meet me at the park!_

Papyrus knew that it didn’t close until midnight. He liked how it felt to be out here when the bright Friday night lights were in full swing. He spotted you bending down to tie your shoe.

“Glad you could come, I was hoping that you weren’t busy.”

Papyrus beamed. “OF COURSE NOT. I ALWAYS HAVE TIME FOR MY SUPER COOL BEST FRIEND. WHAT ARE WE DOING?”

“You’re going to practice. On the half-pipe.”

Month of practice had gone into this. Was he ready? Papyrus stood at the base of it and stared along the rough slope, knowing full well that he’d seen many people fall and injure themselves because of it. But he wasn’t going to give up now. This was his dream! He wanted to learn how to do this the minute that he saw you!

The both of you went up to the top. No one around but the both of you, which was why you’d asked him to stop by so late. He was thankful that you were so concerned about getting anxious around other people, but he really didn’t care about what they thought. Your opinion mattered more.

He positioned his board along the edge as he’d seen you do so many times before.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Glanced over at you, saw your face brimming with encouragement, and took the plunge.

Giddiness and adrenaline welled up in his chest and tickled at his ribcage. A long rush of wind blew his eyesockets wide open. His mouth dropped into a strangled gasp of surprise. The vertigo was overwhelming at first, but the speed used to go down was incredible. He almost faltered a few times, but corrected his balance and managed to stay on. Swooping along each side, going back and forth, not too interested in picking his speed back up, but letting gravity and friction naturally force his path into a standstill.

You slid down the half-pipe to greet him, tackling him straight in the chest in a (not literal, thank god) bone-crushing hug.

“PAPYRUS! That was AMAZING, I can’t believe you were afraid of it! You conquered it no problem, oh my gosh!”

“I DID, DIDN’T I? I COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!”

He laughed with glee and lifted you up without even thinking twice. Twirling you in the air before bringing you back in for an embrace that was as warm as it was inviting.

He pulled away just far enough that you could gaze at each other.

Totally.

Embarrassed.

“WHOOPSIE DOOPSIE. I DID NOT MEAN TO INVADE YOUR PERSONAL SPACE.” He held you at arm’s length and did his best to cover up the fact that he was blushing. Trying to shy away from your pinpointed gaze focused on his cheekbones.

“Um…you’re not upsetting me with it. It was nice.”

“REALLY?” He turned around so quick it was hard not to notice the lingering remnants of his reddened complexion. He held his hands up to his chin and balled them into fists, eyesockets sparkling. “IS IT OKAY IF I CONTINUE TO EMBRACE YOU?”

“Y-yeah. I would like that.”

He didn’t even let you think twice about it. He wrapped you right back and you rested your cheek on his bones, his magic engulfing you in a steady rhythm that reflected your own heartbeat.

Once upon a time, Papyrus fell in love.

ROMANTICALLY.

It happened so gradually. He was minding his own business, trying to involve himself in something fun, when he came across an entirely new feeling.

You were his favorite.

The both of you held hands whenever you skated along everyone else, fingers linked and happy grins all around. You shared a board between you and took turns shredding the pipes around the park, Papyrus tackling the smaller ones at his own pace. He could sit on the curb and watch you for hours, hands on his chin, marveling at the way you handled yourself so professionally and with that sparking flare that screamed RADICAL.

He never thought that a simple side trip would turn into something so wonderful.

“WHAT IS THIS NEW STICKER FOR?”

“That? Oh. Because I earned something.”

You flipped it over to show him. It was a cartoon drawing of him, rendered in full color. With the same expression he showed you all those months ago. You’d scrapped some of the other stuff for it, and underneath it was the one he put on first. So now his portrait was the main event.

“WOWIE!!!”

“Right? I have a friend who’s really good at this style, so I thought maybe he could—mm…”

He pulled back from the kiss and tore off running in the other direction – still strapped up in his rollerblades. The entire park roared with laughter while he flailed and moved inch by inch, trying so hard not to show you his flustered expression.

Hmm. Looked like he had quite a few things to teach you, too. It was a good thing you were a quick learner.

**Author's Note:**

>  **please comment**! i love hearing from you!
> 
> [want to donate?](https://www.ko-fi.com/A258IM#_=_)


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